Page 64 of Snowman

My fists clenched, nails biting into my palms. "You," I growled, barely able to contain the fury coursing through me. "You, whoknew firsthand what it was like… why the fuck did you let him hurt them? Huh?" My voice exploded in a roar. "Youdisgustme."

"Because I wanted them to pay, all of them!" she shouted, her voice breaking. "Every. Single. One of them. No matter who they were!"

I turned to Erik, his eyes meeting mine. Without a word, he grabbed Laura by the arm, hoisting her off the ground. She thrashed and screamed, but he dragged her to the door and left, closing the door behind him.

Lena stepped forward, her lips curling into a smile. She picked up the red, hot iron brand and pressed it into Joe's cheek with a sickening sizzle. His scream ripped, and all I could smell was burning flesh in the air.

I grabbed a pair of frayed cables hanging near the window, my mind racing. Sparks flew when I brought them near the heater, crackling. Joe's body shook fiercely as I put them on his neck, his eyes flying wide.

"This," I said, leaning in close, "is what I call shock therapy. Minus the therapy."

Lena laughed. "Be quick, son," she said as she strode to the door. "The pigs are hungry." She slammed it shut behind her, leaving us in the darkened barn.

Joe’s eyes darted frantically. "Pigs?" His voice cracked with panic. "How? You wouldn’t—"

I crouched down, grabbing him by the collar. "Answer me first," I hissed, my voice cold. "Do you know who sent the letter?"

"I don’t!" he stammered, his face pale, his words tumbling over each other. "But I... I can tell you what was in it!"

"Then speak, idiot!"

"I know where you dwell, where you wander and stray,

At the end of the road, far, frosty homes lay.

Two diamonds you claimed, their gleam met your eye,

But their truth bears a weight — do you know why?

Before snow's first knock, the prodigal must roam,

Back to where it all started, to finally call home."

He recited each sentence, his voice cutting through my thoughts like a knife. With every word, something deep inside me woke up, something I had tried to suppress for so long. Could it be? Could I have been the one to send the letter? Had I lost the control I fought so hard to keep?

The thought clawed at the edges of my mind, but I pushed it down, telling myself I was fine. I had to be. In a twisted way, I felt grateful. If I hadn’t done this, I wouldn’t have met Bree. I wouldn’t have known about her. And now, it felt like everything was finally coming to an end I never dared to imagine.

"Do you know who it was?" I asked as I reached over and turned off the heater.

"I don’t know!" he said, panic written into every line of his face. "But you have to let me go—youhave to!"

I laughed, low and bitter. "And why the fuck would I do that?"

"Because…" He grinned, the corners of his mouth curling. "I met someone, a long time ago, who talked just like that." His tone dropped. "Someone who, just like you, couldn’t help but spill the truth… Dad."

Every word landed like a punch to my face, but he wasn’t done.

"I know you know. But so do I. So what's the point?" I said, my breath hitched as he began to sing, his voice was haunting me.

"Åh, sjung till tallar, låt din röst fly. Där snön faller mjukt i vinterns sky."1

"Stop."

My hands flew to my temples, pressing hard, but my thoughts were just like a rising tide.

"Skogen talar sitt urgamla språk. En saga om livet i köldens vråk,"2 he continued, his tone rising and falling like a taunting lullaby."Korpen skriker där skuggorna går. Vargar ylar djuptdär vinden rår. Men här i stillhet, där hjärtat slår. Hittas friden i skogens spår."3

"STOP!"I shouted, my vision blurring. My hand found the axe propped against the hay bales before I even realized I’d moved.

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